Showa Denko has begun commercial operation of its new ethyl acetate plant at Oita Complex using its proprietary production process technology. A ceremony was recently held at the complex to celebrate the completion of the new plant.

Ethyl acetate is an organic solvent used in wide-ranging applications, including printing ink, paint, and adhesives for electronic devices. Its business environment continues to be severe due to the rise in raw material/fuel costs and the increase in imports. SDK therefore decided last year to change the production process by adopting a highly efficient proprietary technology, and started constructing a new plant.

The conventional process was a two-stage process in which acetaldehyde, synthesized from ethylene, is converted into ethyl acetate. In the new process technology adopted this time, however, acetic acid is directly added to ethylene, enabling efficient production of high-quality ethyl acetate. While the technology is already being used at our production site in Indonesia, this is the first time that the technology is commercially used in Japan.